US to jam radio stations, websites of Taliban: WSJ

The US is trying to prevent the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan from using radio stations and websites to intimidate civilians and plan attacks, pushing deeper into "psychological operations" against the militants who have an edge in the "information war", a media report said today.

Under the broad effort launched by the Obama Administration, US military and intelligence personnel are working to jam the unlicensed radio stations that the Taliban fighters use to broadcast threats and decrees in Pakistan's restive northwestern region bordering Afghanistan, 'The Wall Street Journal' reported citing senior American officials.

It said the US personnel are also trying to block the Pakistani chat rooms and websites that frequently contain videos of attacks and inflammatory religious material that attempts to justify acts of violence.

The push takes the administration deeper into "psychological operations," which attempt to influence how people see the US, its allies and enemies, the report said.Psychological operations are necessary part of reversing deterioration of stability in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, it said citing officials involved with the new programme.
    
US officials believe that the Taliban enjoy an advantage by being able to freely communicate threats and decrees. "The Taliban aren't just winning the information war- we're not even putting up that much of a fight," a senior US official in Afghanistan was quoted as saying.